1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of fuel pump nozzles and more particularly to apparatus for keeping such nozzles triggered on while pumping fuel.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Within the past decade, at least in the United States, the number of self-service gasoline stations has very greatly increased. In the face of steeply increased costs of crude oil and the resistance on the part of motorists to high prices of gasoline and automotive diesel fuel, station operators and owners have substantially reduced most of the customary services provided to motorists. Only rarely are service stations to be found which do not have self-service islands where, for a reduced price of often many cents per gallon, motorists can pump their own gasoline or diesel fuel. Moreover, in many regions of relatively high crime or where convenience stores have replaced the service bays, all of the pump islands are self service.
As an obvious consequence, more and more motorists, men and women alike, are pumping their own gasoline or automotive diesel fuel. For many motorists, the pumping of their own gasoline or diesel fuel is at least an annoyance and at worst a tedious and sometimes dangerous task.
Before the recent prevalence of self-service islands in gasoline stations, most pump nozzles were equipped with some type of releasable trigger lock which could be activated by the operator to hold the nozzle trigger in the "on" or pumping position. By locking the pump nozzle trigger in the on position, the service station attendant could leave the nozzle in a vehicle gas tank filler neck and have the tank being filled while other services were being performed. The nozzles were so constructed that when the vehicle fuel tank was filled to about full, back pressure would shut the nozzle off even with the trigger locked in the on (pump) position. To pump additional fuel, for example, to "top off" the tank, the nozzle trigger had to be unlocked and released and again moved to the on position.
However, for reasons not entirely clear, as previously "full" service stations were entirely or partially converted to "self-serve" stations, many service station operators removed or deactivated the pump nozzle trigger locks. As a consequence, most motorists who now often have little choice but to pump their own gasoline or diesel fuel, must stand by their vehicle tank filler neck while keeping the nozzle trigger squeezed on until the fuel tank is filled.
As above mentioned, keeping the nozzle trigger held to the on position for the entire time the fuel tank is being filled is tedious to most persons. However, to many women motorists or many motorists who have certain physical disabilities, such as arthritis in their hands, the task of keeping the nozzle trigger held on is difficult and sometimes impossible.
Some motorists attempt to keep the pump nozzle trigger in the on position by wedging or jamming the vehicle fuel tank cap under the trigger. However, fuel caps are made in a great variety of sizes and shapes and none have heretofore, to the knowledge of the present inventor, been specifically shaped to function as a nozzle trigger lock. As a result, gas caps used for such purposes tend to slip out of place, for example, as a result of pumping surges caused by simultaneous operation of other pumps in the same service station, and may be damaged or roll under the vehicle causing other problems.
In other situations, some motorists may use "make-shift" nozzle trigger locks which work with some fuel pump nozzle triggers but not with others or may not have satisfactory means for keeping the make-shift trigger locks readily at hand.
For these and other reasons, the present inventor has developed a general purpose trigger lock for fuel pump nozzles. the trigger lock being configured for use with several different, known, pump nozzle types, including diesel fuel pump nozzles.